Refrigerator

ABSTRACT

A refrigerator is provided. The refrigerator may include a cabinet having a storage compartment, a door rotatably coupled to a front surface of the cabinet that opens and closes the storage compartment, a housing provided at a rear surface of the door to define an accommodation space, a cool air inlet hole provided at an upper surface of the housing, a basket provided inside the housing and mounted to the door, the basket having a recess to provide an opening between the basket and the door, a circulation fan provided at an inner upper surface of the cabinet that corresponds to an upper side of the cool air inlet hole when the door is closed, and configured to circulate cool air from the storage compartment into an inside of the housing, and a cool air flow path formed by the opening to allow the cool air to flow through the inside of the accommodation space.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2015-0022647, filed in Korea on Feb. 13, 2015, whose entire disclosure is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Embodiments relate to a refrigerator.

2. Background

As refrigerators become larger, storage compartments in the refrigerators become deeper, and a separate storage space may be provided at a rear surface of the refrigerators doors. According to Korean Patent Publication No. 2010-0122155 published on Nov. 22, 2010, which has been filed by the applicant and incorporated by reference herein, a door that opens and closes a storage compartment in a refrigerator may have a structure including an inner door and an outer door. A housing, which defines an accommodation space, may be installed at a rear surface of the inner door, which is in close contact with a cabinet. An opening, which allows access to an inside of the housing, may be formed at the inner door, and the opening may be blocked by the outer door.

A user may store items, e.g., food, which used, in the housing, and thus, may take out food stored in the housing by opening only the outer door and may also minimize leakage of cool air from the storage compartment. However, when food is accommodated in the housing, the cool air in the storage compartment of the refrigerator may not be smoothly supplied into the housing. Food accommodated in the housing may serve as an obstacle that blocks flow of the cool air, and thus, the cool air supplied into the housing may not circulate.

To solve the above-described problems, a method, in which a duct connecting an evaporation compartment with the housing is separately installed inside the cabinet of the refrigerator, has been proposed. However, a disadvantage for this method is that a separate duct component may be installed at a side surface or an upper surface of the cabinet, and a separate insulation for the duct may be required. Thus, an insulating effect of the duct may be lowered, dew condensation or ice formation may occur, and the duct may expand during a foaming process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator having a cool air circulation structure according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of a door of the refrigerator according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a door basket provided at the door of the refrigerator according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V-V of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator having a cool air circulation structure according to an embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, a refrigerator 10 may include a cabinet 11, which may have a storage space therein, and a door, which may be rotatably or slidably connected to a front surface of the cabinet 11 and may selectively open and close the storage space. For example, the storage space may include a refrigerator compartment 111 and a freezer compartment 112. The refrigerator compartment 111 may be selectively opened and closed by a rotary or rotatable door 12, and the freezer compartment 112 may be selectively opened and closed by a drawer door 13. The door 13, which may open and close the freezer compartment 112, may also be a rotatable door.

When the doors 12, 13 are rotatable, the doors 12, 13 may be a pair of French doors, which may be rotatably connected to a left or first edge and a right or second edge of the front surface of the cabinet 11. At least one of the pair of French doors may include an inner door 121, which may be rotatably coupled to the front surface of the cabinet 11, and an outer door 122, which may be rotatably coupled to the inner door 121 at a front surface of the inner door 121. The inner door 121 and the outer door 122 may be referred to as a first door and a second door, respectively.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the door of the refrigerator according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a door basket provided at the door of the refrigerator according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V-V of FIG. 2. Referring to FIGS. 2 to 5, the door 12 of the refrigerator 10 may include the inner door 121, and the outer door 122. The inner door 121 may include a door case 121 a, which may form an external appearance of the inner door 121, a door liner 121 b, which may be installed or provided at a rear surface of the door case 121 a, and a door dike 121 c, which may protrude from the door liner 121 b at a predetermined length and may be provided along an outer edge of the door liner 121 b. Referring to FIG. 4, an access hole or an opening 121 d having a predetermined size may be formed inside the inner door 121, and the access hole 121 d may be selectively opened and closed by the outer door 122.

A housing 14, which may define a food accommodation space, may be installed or provided at a rear surface of the inner door 121. The housing 14 may be coupled to the door dike 121 c. A width of the food accommodation space formed at the inner door 121 may be defined as a sum of a length corresponding to a thickness of the inner door 121 defined by the door case 121 a and the door liner 121 b, a protruding length of the door dike 121 c, and a width of the housing 14.

The housing 14 may include upper and lower surfaces, left and right side surfaces, a rear surface, and an opened front surface. A size of the opened front surface may correspond to a size of the access hole 121 d. A cool air inlet port 141, through which cool air may be introduced into the housing 14, may be formed at the upper surface of the housing 14, and a plurality of cool air outlet ports 142 may be formed at the rear surface of the housing 14.

A plurality of basket supporting ribs 143 may protrude from an inner surface of the housing 14. The plurality of basket supporting ribs or brackets 143 may be provided inside the housing 14 to be spaced apart from each other vertically at predetermined intervals. Each of the basket supporting ribs 143 may horizontally extend from the inner surface of the housing 14 while having a predetermined width, and may continuously extend along the left and right side surfaces and the rear surface of the housing 14. Alternatively, each of the basket supporting ribs 143 may extend from only inner surfaces of the left and right side surfaces of the housing 14.

One or more door baskets 15 may be installed inside the housing 14. Each of the door baskets 15 may be seated on the basket supporting ribs 143 and may be coupled to the door dike 121 c. The one or more door baskets 15 may be separably coupled to the door dike 121 c. When the door baskets 15 are coupled to the door dike 121 c, a bottom of each of the door baskets 15 may be in contact with the basket supporting ribs 143. For example, a fastening rib 121 e, which may protrude toward a center of the access hole 121 d and vertically extend a predetermined length, may be formed at an inner surface of the door dike 121 c. The fastening rib 121 e may be inserted into a side surface of the door basket 15.

When the door baskets 15 are installed or provided inside the housing 14, a cool air path 105, through which the cool air may pass, may be formed between the front surface of the inner door 121 and front surfaces of the door baskets 15. When the door baskets 15 are installed or provided inside the inner door 121, the front surfaces of the door baskets 15 are spaced backward apart from the front surface of the inner door 121 at a predetermined distance. Therefore, cool air from the refrigerator compartment 111 introduced into the cool air inlet port 141 may flow down along the cool air path 105, and then may be discharged again into the refrigerator compartment 111 through the plurality of cool air outlet ports 142.

Each of the door baskets 15 may be in a box shape, of which an upper surface may be opened. For example, each of the door baskets 15 may include a front portion 152, a rear portion 153, a left side portion 154 and a right side portion 155, which may connect ends of the front portion 152 and the rear portion 153, and a bottom portion 151, which may connect lower ends of the rear portion 153, the left and right side portions 154 and 155, and the front portion 152.

A basket installation part or mount 156 may be formed at each of left and right edges of the rear portion 153. For example, the basket installation mount 156 may further protrude from the rear portion 153. The basket installation mount 156 may be coupled to the door dike 121 c. As the basket installation mount 156 protrudes further than the rear portion 153 of the door basket 15, a distance L1 from a front end of the basket installation mount 156 to the front portion 152 of the door basket 15 may be longer than a distance L2 between the rear portion 153 and the front portion 152.

A fastening groove 157, in which the fastening rib 121 e formed at the door dike 121 c may be inserted, may be recessed from an outer surface of the basket installation mount 156. The fastening rib 121 e may be inserted into the fastening groove 157 in a direction in which the door basket 15 may be moved onto the fastening rib 121 e, for example, a downward direction, and thus, the door basket 15 may be coupled to the door dike 121 c. As the fastening rib 121 e is inserted into the fastening groove 157 by moving the door basket 15 downward, the door basket 15 may be prevented from being separated from the inner door 121 while the inner door 121 is opened and closed.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5, the cool air descending path 105 may be defined as a space formed by the rear portion 153 of the door basket 15, the basket installation mount 156, the access hole 121 d, and a rear surface of the outer door 122. A distance from the rear surface of the outer door 122 to the rear portion 153 of the door basket 15 may be defined as a width of the cool air descending path 105.

Referring to FIG. 4, a cool air circulation fan 20 may be installed or provided at an upper surface of a front portion of the cabinet 11. For example, the cool air circulation fan 20 may be located at a position corresponding to just above the cool air inlet port 141 of the housing 14. A fan seating groove 113 formed to be recessed at a predetermined depth may be formed at an inner upper surface of the cabinet 11 at which the cool air circulation fan 20 may be installed. A wire 114 connected to the cool air circulation fan 20 may extend along an inside of the cabinet 11, and may be connected to a controller.

The cool air circulation fan 20 may be inclined at an angle corresponding to a gradient of the upper surface of the housing 14. A bottom of the fan seating groove 113 may be inclined with a gradient, which is the same as a gradient of the upper surface of the housing 14. For example, the fan seating groove 113 may be recessed by a depth, which may accommodate the cool air circulation fan 20 such that the cool air circulation fan 20 may not interfere with the upper surface of the housing 14 when the door 12 is closed. That is, the fan seating groove 113 may be recessed with a predetermined depth so that a lower surface of the cool air circulation fan 20 may be spaced apart from the upper surface of the housing 14 at a predetermined distance when the cool air circulation fan 20 is installed at a ceiling of the refrigerator compartment 111.

Also, the fan seating groove 113 may have a sufficient size such that the cool air in the refrigerator compartment 111 may be introduced to the cool air circulation fan 20. That is, when the door 12 is closed, a rear end of the fan seating groove 113 may be further rearward than the rear surface of the housing 14. Then, the cool air in the refrigerator compartment 111 may be suctioned to the cool air circulation fan 20 through a space defined between the rear surface of the housing 14 and a rear end of the fan seating groove 113.

For example, the cool air suctioned by the cool air circulation fan 20 may be supplied into the housing 14 through the cool air inlet port 141 of the housing 14, and the cool air supplied in the housing 14 may cool food inside the housing 14 in a refrigerated state. A circulation process, in which the cool air supplied in the housing 14 may flow down along the cool air descending path 105 and be discharged again into the refrigerator compartment 111 through the cool air outlet ports 142, may be repeated. Thus, as the cool air circulation fan is installed at the ceiling portion of the storage compartment inside the cabinet, the cool air in the storage compartment of the refrigerator may be supplied to the housing of the door, and the cool air may be smoothly circulated.

According to the embodiment, there may be no need to lay a duct structure inside the cabinet, and duct expansion, dew condensation, or ice formation during a foaming process may be prevented. Embodiments disclosed herein provide a refrigerator which is able to provide the above-mentioned advantages.

According embodiments disclosed herein, a refrigerator may include a cabinet having a storage compartment; a door rotatably coupled to a front surface of the cabinet, and configured to selectively open and close the storage compartment; a housing installed at a rear surface of the door to define a food accommodation space, and having a cool air inlet hole formed at an upper surface thereof; a door basket or basket located inside the housing; and a cool air circulation fan or circulation fan installed or provided at an inner upper surface of the cabinet corresponding to an upper side of the cool air inlet hole when the door is closed, and configured to enable the cool air in the storage compartment to forcibly flow to an inside of the housing, wherein a cool air descending path or flow path may be formed between a vertical surface that passes through a front surface of the door and a vertical surface that passes through a front portion of the door basket.

The refrigerator may include a cabinet having a storage compartment, a door rotatably coupled to a front surface of the cabinet that opens and closes the storage compartment, a housing provided at a rear surface of the door to define an accommodation space, a cool air inlet hole provided at an upper surface of the housing, a basket provided inside the housing and mounted to the door, the basket having a recess to provide an opening between the basket and the door, a circulation fan provided at an inner upper surface of the cabinet that corresponds to an upper side of the cool air inlet hole when the door is closed, and configured to circulate cool air from the storage compartment into an inside of the housing, and a cool air flow path formed by the opening to allow the cool air to flow through the inside of the accommodation space.

The circulation fan may introduce the cool air from the storage compartment into the housing through the cool air inlet hole, and the cool air introduced into the housing flows down along the cool air flow path. The refrigerator may further include at least one cool air outlet port formed at a rear surface of the housing, and the cool air flowing down along the cool air flow path may be discharged into the storage compartment through the cool air outlet port.

A fan seating groove may be recessed from the inner upper surface of the cabinet at which the circulation fan is installed such that the circulation fan may not interfere with the upper surface of the housing when the door is closed. The upper surface of the housing may be inclined at a gradient, and the circulation fan may be inclined at a gradient that corresponds to the gradient of the upper surface of the housing. A width of the fan seating groove may extend further into a rear of the cabinet than a rear surface of the housing while the door is closed such that the cool air in the storage compartment may be suctioned to the circulation fan.

The door may include an inner door, in which the housing may be provided at a rear surface thereof, and an outer door, which may be rotatably connected to the inner door. An edge of the rear surface of the inner door may be in close contact with the front surface of the cabinet while the inner door is closed, and an edge of a rear surface of the outer door may be in close contact with a front surface of the inner door while the outer door is closed.

An access hole may be formed inside the inner door and may be opened and closed by the outer door, the access hole having a same size as a front end of the housing. The inner door may include a door case, of which a front surface may be in close contact with the rear surface of the outer door, a door liner, which may be coupled to a rear surface of the door case, and a door dike, which may protrude from an edge of the door liner and may be in close contact with a front surface of the housing. The door dike may include a pair of vertical portions that extend along a left edge and a right edge of the access hole; and one or more fastening ribs that protrude from an inner surface of each of the pair of vertical portions.

The basket may include a front portion; a rear portion; left and right side portions that connect ends of the front portion and the rear portion; a bottom portion that connects the front portion, the left and right side portions, and the rear portion; and a basket installation mount, to which the fastening rib may be fastened, that extends out from left and right edges of the front portion.

The basket installation mount may include a fastening groove that extends vertically in the basket installation mount and may have a depth that corresponds to a protrusion size of the fastening rib. While the outer door is in close contact with the inner door, a front end of the basket installation mount and the rear surface of the outer door may be spaced apart from each other at a predetermined distance. While the outer door is in close contact with the inner door, a forward and backward width of a center of the cool air flow path may be a distance from the rear surface of the outer door to the front portion of the basket. The refrigerator may further include a basket supporting rib that extends from an inner side surface of the housing toward a center of the housing and with which the bottom portion of the basket is in close contact when the fastening rib is completely inserted into the fastening groove.

Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of such phrases in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with any embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the purview of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other ones of the embodiments.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number of illustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles of this disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modifications are possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subject combination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications in the component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also be apparent to those skilled in the art. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A refrigerator, comprising: a cabinet having a storage compartment; a door rotatably coupled to a front surface of the cabinet that opens and closes the storage compartment; a housing provided at a rear surface of the door to define an accommodation space; a cool air inlet hole provided at an upper surface of the housing; a basket provided inside the housing and mounted to the door, the basket having a recess to provide an opening between the basket and the door; and a circulation fan provided at an inner upper surface of the cabinet that corresponds to an upper side of the cool air inlet hole when the door is closed, and configured to circulate cool air from the storage compartment into an inside of the housing; and a cool air flow path formed by the opening to allow the cool air to flow through the inside of the accommodation space.
 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the circulation fan introduces the cool air from the storage compartment into the housing through the cool air inlet hole, and the cool air introduced into the housing flows down along the cool air flow path.
 3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, further comprising at least one cool air outlet port formed at a rear surface of the housing, wherein the cool air flowing down along the cool air flow path is discharged into the storage compartment through the cool air outlet port.
 4. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a fan seating groove is recessed from the inner upper surface of the cabinet at which the circulation fan is installed such that the circulation fan does not interfere with the upper surface of the housing when the door is closed.
 5. The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the upper surface of the housing is inclined at a gradient, and the circulation fan is inclined at a gradient that corresponds to the gradient of the upper surface of the housing.
 6. The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein a width of the fan seating groove extends further into a rear of the cabinet than a rear surface of the housing while the door is closed such that the cool air in the storage compartment is suctioned to the circulation fan.
 7. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the door includes an inner door, in which the housing is provided at a rear surface thereof, and an outer door, which is rotatably connected to the inner door.
 8. The refrigerator according to claim 7, wherein an edge of the rear surface of the inner door is in close contact with the front surface of the cabinet while the inner door is closed, and an edge of a rear surface of the outer door is in close contact with a front surface of the inner door while the outer door is closed.
 9. The refrigerator according to claim 7, wherein an access hole is formed inside the inner door and is opened and closed by the outer door, the access hole having a same size as a front end of the housing.
 10. The refrigerator according to claim 7, wherein the inner door includes a door case, of which a front surface is in close contact with the rear surface of the outer door, a door liner, which is coupled to a rear surface of the door case, and a door dike, which protrudes from an edge of the door liner and is in close contact with a front surface of the housing.
 11. The refrigerator according to claim 10, wherein the door dike includes a pair of vertical portions that extend along a left edge and a right edge of the access hole; and one or more fastening ribs that protrude from an inner surface of each of the pair of vertical portions.
 12. The refrigerator according to claim 11, wherein the basket includes a front portion; a rear portion; left and right side portions that connect ends of the front portion and the rear portion; a bottom portion that connects the front portion, the left and right side portions, and the rear portion; and a basket installation mount, to which the fastening rib is fastened, that extends out from left and right edges of the front portion.
 13. The refrigerator according to claim 12, wherein the basket installation mount includes a fastening groove that extends vertically in the basket installation mount and has a depth that corresponds to a protrusion size of the fastening rib.
 14. The refrigerator according to claim 13, wherein, while the outer door is in close contact with the inner door, a front end of the basket installation mount and the rear surface of the outer door are spaced apart from each other at a predetermined distance.
 15. The refrigerator according to claim 12, wherein, while the outer door is in close contact with the inner door, a forward and backward width of a center of the cool air flow path is a distance from the rear surface of the outer door to the front portion of the basket.
 16. The refrigerator according to claim 12, further comprising a basket supporting rib that extends from an inner side surface of the housing toward a center of the housing and with which the bottom portion of the basket is in close contact when the fastening rib is completely inserted into the fastening groove.
 17. A refrigerator, comprising: a cabinet having a storage compartment; a door rotatably coupled to a front surface of the cabinet that opens and closes the storage compartment; a housing provided at a rear surface of the door to define an accommodation space; a cool air inlet hole provided at an upper surface of the housing; a basket provided inside the housing; a circulation fan provided at an inner upper surface of the cabinet that corresponds to an upper side of the cool air inlet hole when the door is closed, and configured to introduce the cool air from the storage compartment into the housing through the cool air inlet hole; a cool air flow path formed between the basket and the door to allow the cool air to flow down; and at least one cool air outlet port formed at a rear surface of the housing to discharge the cool air flowing down through the accommodation space into the storage compartment.
 18. The refrigerator according to claim 17, wherein the door includes an inner door, in which the housing is provided at a rear surface thereof, and an outer door, which is rotatably connected to the inner door, and wherein an edge of the rear surface of the inner door is in close contact with the front surface of the cabinet while the inner door is closed, and an edge of a rear surface of the outer door is in close contact with a front surface of the inner door while the outer door is closed.
 19. The refrigerator according to claim 18, wherein, while the outer door is in close contact with the inner door, a forward and backward width of a center of the cool air flow path is a distance from the rear surface of the outer door to a front portion of the basket.
 20. A refrigerator, comprising: a cabinet having a storage compartment; an inner door, rotatably coupled to a front surface of the cabinet that opens and closes the storage compartment; an outer door, which is rotatably connected to the inner door; a housing provided at a rear surface of the inner door to define an accommodation space; a cool air inlet hole provided at an upper surface of the housing; a basket provided inside the housing; a circulation fan provided at an inner upper surface of the cabinet that corresponds to an upper side of the cool air inlet hole when the inner door is closed, and configured to introduce the cool air from the storage compartment into the housing through the cool air inlet hole; a cool air flow path formed between a rear surface of the outer door and a front portion of the basket to allow the cool air to flow down; and at least one cool air outlet port formed at a rear surface of the housing to discharge the cool air flowing down through the accommodation space into the storage compartment. 